Peach Valley Cafe – SoDo – Orlando – Orange Avenue

I previously visited Peach Valley Café in the Dr. Phillips area a few years ago and had a lovely breakfast of Belgian waffles and sausage. The restaurant, based out of New Smyrna Beach and part of the Stonewood Restaurant Group, recently expanded to the SoDo District (South of Downtown Orlando), the third in the Orlando area after the aforementioned Dr. Philips and Heathrow locations.

I was recently invited by the folks at Peach Valley to a media brunch event to sample some of their menu items. The restaurant is located in a plaza, tucked away from Orange Avenue near a Publix. Large open windows along the building give the space a lot of Florida sunshine and light, providing a bright, airy feeling inside. Surprisingly, I was told that they are busiest during rainy days compared to sunny days, maybe because there are so many things to do in Central Florida when the sun is out and there is more of a need for comfort food in those down weather days.

Peach Valley Cafe specializes in brunch and breakfast items, all prepared in house with fresh ingredients, with many healthy and light options for those new year’s resolution conscious diners. However, I am not one of those diners.

The first thing we had were the apple fritters, a popular mainstay at Peach Valley, served tableside with a shake of brown sugar and cinnamon and a side of strawberry or pumpkin yogurt dip. The fritters were good, fresh and fluffy, lightly sweet and fun to dip. I can see why so many people rave about these little apple cinnamon bits of joy.

Peach Valley Cafe’s Apple Fritters – served tableside

Peach Valley Cafe’s Apple Fritters – with their dipping sauces.

One of our favorite items was the Chicken and Waffles, prepared with fried chicken, pillowy Belgian waffles, and blueberry butter and cajun syrup. Though the fried chicken may have needed some more seasoning, the waffle, chicken, and cajun syrup made for a winning combination of texture and tastes.

Stuffed French Toast was another highlight here, made with a creamy peach and strawberry filling, and housemade blueberry syrup.

For those veggie lovers, try the vegetable and egg croissant benedict, made with flaky croissants, beefsteak tomatos, asparagus, spicy red onions, and poached egg with hollandaise sauce and breakfast potatos.

Peach Valley uses a state of the art Kindle Fire based ordering system that allows the waiters to quickly send the orders over to the kitchen.

Our waiter, a young gentlemen studying to become a doctor at UF, suggested to us the delicious Santa Fe Chicken Salad Wrap, a wrap stuffed with corn and black bean salsa, pico de gallo, fresh mixed greens, and a creamy ranch dressing. It was refreshing and tasty, and maybe one of my favorite wraps ever.